Would you like to find out what a copyright is and why it is relevant to you?
This is the initial question I would pose to my students if I were to introduce a lesson on the ethics of copyrighted material. So many students don't even know what a copyright really is and that it really is a law that can be broken with consequences.
Does anyone know the meaning of the terms "intellectual property", "fair use", "derivative work" and "public domain"?
Copyright is a protection given to the creators of "original works of authorship" and gives the creator the right to sell or license the works to reward his/her efforts. It is important for anyone who creates or uses copyright-able materials - including kids! - to understand what the US copyright law permits and restricts and why.
In an actual classroom setting I would set the stage by having students write what they think the 4 words above in orange mean. This could lead us into a quick discussion and help me gauge where my students sit in terms of what they already know and how basic their research needs to be.
Next I would pair the students for a little web quest! (These are my new favorite) I would give them a list of goals and information they need to find as well as several reliable websites they could use to find them.
They would need to:
- Describe the basic elements of the US Copyright Law.
- Describe the establishment of fair use.
- Tell which parts of the copyright law apply most to the internet,
- Describe the possible penalties of breaking the copyright law.
I think once all information is gathered it would be good to give the students some real world examples or case studies to go over to apply the information. This way, it is more difficult for them to simply write-off what they learned as "it would never really happen". We could then have a great class discussion about the copyright laws and the case studies.
In order to assess each student individually I would then have them write a personal opinion essay on the applicability of the copyright laws in the information age. Each student could tell how the copyright laws apply to their own personal internet use and how they will need to change their use (if at all) after what they have learned.
Thanks for the free lesson on copyright laws Mary, I did not know copyright law was so complex and covered EVERYTHING! Our district like many across the country is really concerned about copyright use, just this past year all music that is played in our PE classes must be pre-approved, or purchased by the district! This basically means we can't burn a CD for class at home and bring it up to school to play. Times are changing!
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